The Aeneid by Virgil (best novel books to read TXT) đ
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Virgilâs epic poem begins with Aeneas fleeing the ruins of Troy with his father Anchises and his young son Ascanius, with a plan to make a home in Italy. Because of a prophecy foretelling that the descendants of Aeneas will one day destroy Carthage, Junoâs favorite city, Juno orders the god of the winds to unleash a terrible storm. The ships are thrown off course and arrive at an African port. As Aeneas makes his way towards his new home he encounters Dido, Carthageâs queen, and falls deeply in love.
Although Charles W. Elliot stated that âthe modern appreciation of the Iliad and the Odyssey has tended to carry with it a depreciation of the Aeneid,â this epic poem continues to inspire artists, writers, and musicians centuries after its first telling. John Drydenâs translation captures the musicality of the original Latin verses while avoiding the stumbling of an English translation forced into dactylic hexameter.
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- Author: Virgil
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With noise say nothing, and in parts divide.
Laocoon, followâd by a numârous crowd,
Ran from the fort, and cried, from far, aloud:
âO wretched countrymen! what fury reigns?
What more than madness has possessâd your brains?
Think you the Grecians from your coasts are gone?
And are Ulyssesâ arts no better known?
This hollow fabric either must inclose,
Within its blind recess, our secret foes;
Or âtis an engine raisâd above the town,
Tâ oâerlook the walls, and then to batter down.
Somewhat is sure designâd, by fraud or force:
Trust not their presents, nor admit the horse.â
Thus having said, against the steed he threw
His forceful spear, which, hissing as it flew,
Piercâd throâ the yielding planks of jointed wood,
And trembling in the hollow belly stood.
The sides, transpiercâd, return a rattling sound,
And groans of Greeks inclosâd come issuing throâ the wound
And, had not Heavân the fall of Troy designâd,
Or had not men been fated to be blind,
Enough was said and done tâinspire a better mind.
Then had our lances piercâd the treachârous wood,
And Ilian towârs and Priamâs empire stood.
Meantime, with shouts, the Trojan shepherds bring
A captive Greek, in bands, before the king;
Taken to take; who made himself their prey,
Tâ impose on their belief, and Troy betray;
Fixâd on his aim, and obstinately bent
To die undaunted, or to circumvent.
About the captive, tides of Trojans flow;
All press to see, and some insult the foe.
Now hear how well the Greeks their wiles disguisâd;
Behold a nation in a man comprisâd.
Trembling the miscreant stood, unarmâd and bound;
He starâd, and rollâd his haggard eyes around,
Then said: âAlas! what earth remains, what sea
Is open to receive unhappy me?
What fate a wretched fugitive attends,
Scornâd by my foes, abandonâd by my friends?â
He said, and sighâd, and cast a rueful eye:
Our pity kindles, and our passions die.
We cheer the youth to make his own defence,
And freely tell us what he was, and whence:
What news he could impart, we long to know,
And what to credit from a captive foe.
âHis fear at length dismissâd, he said: âWhateâer
My fate ordains, my words shall be sincere:
I neither can nor dare my birth disclaim;
Greece is my country, Sinon is my name.
Thoâ plungâd by Fortuneâs powâr in misery,
âTis not in Fortuneâs powâr to make me lie.
If any chance has hither brought the name
Of Palamedes, not unknown to fame,
Who sufferâd from the malice of the times,
Accusâd and sentencâd for pretended crimes,
Because these fatal wars he would prevent;
Whose death the wretched Greeks too late lamentâ â
Me, then a boy, my father, poor and bare
Of other means, committed to his care,
His kinsman and companion in the war.
While Fortune favourâd, while his arms support
The cause, and rulâd the counsels, of the court,
I made some figure there; nor was my name
Obscure, nor I without my share of fame.
But when Ulysses, with fallacious arts,
Had made impression in the peopleâs hearts,
And forgâd a treason in my patronâs name
(I speak of things too far divulgâd by fame),
My kinsman fell. Then I, without support,
In private mournâd his loss, and left the court.
Mad as I was, I could not bear his fate
With silent grief, but loudly blamâd the state,
And cursâd the direful author of my woes.
âTwas told again; and hence my ruin rose.
I threatenâd, if indulgent Heavân once more
Would land me safely on my native shore,
His death with double vengeance to restore.
This movâd the murdererâs hate; and soon ensued
Thâ effects of malice from a man so proud.
Ambiguous rumours throâ the camp he spread,
And sought, by treason, my devoted head;
New crimes invented; left unturnâd no stone,
To make my guilt appear, and hide his own;
Till Calchas was by force and threatâning wroughtâ â
But whyâ âwhy dwell I on that anxious thought?
If on my nation just revenge you seek,
And âtis tâ appear a foe, tâ appear a Greek;
Already you my name and country know;
Assuage your thirst of blood, and strike the blow:
My death will both the kingly brothers please,
And set insatiate Ithacus at ease.â
This fair unfinishâd tale, these broken starts,
Raisâd expectations in our longing hearts:
Unknowing as we were in Grecian arts.
His former trembling once again renewâd,
With acted fear, the villain thus pursued:
âââLong had the Grecians (tirâd with fruitless care,
And wearied with an unsuccessful war)
Resolvâd to raise the siege, and leave the town;
And, had the gods permitted, they had gone;
But oft the wintry seas and southern winds
Withstood their passage home, and changâd their minds.
Portents and prodigies their souls amazâd;
But most, when this stupendous pile was raisâd:
Then flaming meteors, hung in air, were seen,
And thunders rattled throâ a sky serene.
Dismayâd, and fearful of some dire event,
Eurypylus tâ enquire their fate was sent.
He from the gods this dreadful answer brought:
âO Grecians, when the Trojan shores you sought,
Your passage with a virginâs blood was bought:
So must your safe return be bought again,
And Grecian blood once more atone the main.â
The spreading rumour round the people ran;
All fearâd, and each believâd himself the man.
Ulysses took thâ advantage of their fright;
Callâd Calchas, and producâd in open sight:
Then bade him name the wretch, ordainâd by fate
The public victim, to redeem the state.
Already some presagâd the dire event,
And saw what sacrifice Ulysses meant.
For twice five days the good old seer withstood
Thâ intended treason, and was dumb to blood,
Till, tirâd, with endless clamours and pursuit
Of Ithacus, he stood no longer mute;
But, as it was agreed, pronouncâd that I
Was destinâd by the wrathful gods to die.
All praisâd the sentence, pleasâd the storm should fall
On one alone, whose fury threatenâd all.
The dismal day was come; the priests prepare
Their leavenâd cakes, and fillets for my hair.
I followâd natureâs laws, and must avow
I broke my bonds and fled the fatal blow.
Hid in a weedy lake all night I lay,
Secure of safety when they sailâd away.
But now what further hopes for me remain,
To see my friends, or native soil, again;
My tender infants, or my careful sire,
Whom they returning will to death require;
Will perpetrate on them their first design,
And take the forfeit of their heads for mine?
Which, O! if pity mortal minds can move,
If there be faith below, or gods above,
If innocence and truth can claim desert,
Ye Trojans, from an injurâd wretch avert.â
âFalse tears true pity move; the king commands
To loose his fetters, and unbind his hands:
Then adds these friendly words:
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